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Friday, April 30, 2010

Venice!

This city reminds me of it's a small world in Disneyland. It is one of the weirdest places I have ever been to, and the second time around only magnifies that. Everyone gets around by boat or by walking. The city is connected by a maze of little foot bridges that are absolutely horrid to maneuver with suitcases!

Max ended up playing superhero 'Dad' and carried both his and Ericka's bags almost the entire time. The rest of the time Ericka and him switched bags, both were big, but Ericka's of course was a bit bigger and a bit bulkier.

We had quite the time trying to find our hostel, it was literally a whole in the wall, no wonder we couldn't find it! One of the locals, (this is a kindly little taxi man) we asked for directions. We had to have gone back and forth over two little bridges twice before we realized where it was. The little corner on the white building with a window just above the little section of black, the entrance. Needless to say Ericka and I took one look at it and then looked at each other wondering how much the deposit was and where else we could stay. The picture does no justice of how sketch the place actually looked.

We went in and talked to the lady at the front desk. She handed us our key and pulled out a map and started explaining places to go to eat, what to see, etc. Then she says, "from here, you 1 bridge, 2 bridge, 3 bridge, 4 bridge, 5 bridge, and there..? your room." I think all three of us got the wind knocked out of us as she said it alone, after asking about taxi, bus, boat, gondola, and her laughing at us, we finally gave in to the idea of dragging our suitcases up and over the bajillion step bridges. kerclunk. clickity clack.

We got there and had trouble opening the door (we had more trouble trying to get back out) but we were pleasantly surprised to find a very large room, single beds, our own bathroom, and very clean living space. We had two others living with us (both of whom had problems with flights due to the Volcano). This situation really would be ideal if traveling with a large group of friends because you'd have your own space to party in literally. 6 beds, so ideal, more like an apartment! Had a fridge and everything.

The city is so cute, I love it. It is crazy touristy, but there is something about it that remains genuine. It feels like the heart beat of the city is becoming more cosmopolitan, but the old man in the liquor store where we bought fragola, and the crazy man who sat across from us on our last morning drinking a coffee, serves as a reminder that people do live and manage to exist in this wonderful world.

St. Mark's Square! Rebecca, listen carefully for the song in the video!

Oh, the places a pair of Sperry's can take you!

We completely failed in finding a good gelato on the island, they had Grom though which everyone seems to love except me. Ericka said it best, that it was like Coldstone; however, at least coldstone has great flavors and a plethora of mixes. Who doesn't love mixing cake mix, with apples, cinnamon, and grahm to make it taste like an apple strudel?! No this was like level of breyers in my mind. I was not impressed. The fragola (strawberry) tasted like kid lip gloss, the grapefruit too tart, the nut flavors were great; however, I think part of it was that it lost its authenticity for me, and some of its charm, by being a chain. However, this is where we had the best Italian Pastry. The only thing I can equate it to look wise is a large profiterole, taste wise, an Eclaire with its creamier chocolate filling.

I did not want to leave Italy a second time, but it was time to get on the boat!